Amalgamator.



F. P. ARNOLD & G. F. WEDEMAN.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, I914.

Patented May 11, 1915.

HE NORRIS PETERS C0,. PHOTO-LITHCL, WASHINGTON. D. c.

@NTTED STATES PATENT QFFTQE.

FRANK P. ARNOLD, OF CABBONDALE, PENNSYLVANIA, AND GEORGE F. WEDEMAN, OF VVASI-IING'ION, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

AMALGAMA'I'OR.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Application filed May 23, 1914. Serial N 0. 840,534.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, FRANK P. ARNOLD and GEORGE .F. VVEDEMAN, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Carbondale, Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, and in the city of lVashington, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators; and we do hereby declare the following. to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates primarily to the metallurgical art, has especial reference to an apparatus for recovering gold and silver from the ores, has for its object a simple, easily constructed, economically and readily operated device; and the invention consists in certain improvements which will be fully disclosed in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification:Figure 1 represents our invention in side elevation, partly in longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section, partly in elevation, on lines AA, Fig. 1.

Reference being had to the drawings and the designating characters thereon, the numeral 1 indicates an elongated tank or receptacle, having converging side walls 2, 3, terminating in a semi-cylindrical bottom 4, in which there is a mercury or amalgam receptacle 5. The walls 2, 3, terminate at their upper ends in a hopper-like construction 6, in which the ore supply side is pro.

vided with an inwardly and downwardly extending flange 7, over which water and the ore pass from a suitable source of supply to the receptacle; and a flange 8 inclined downwardly and outwardly, over which the pulp passes to a suitable chute, not shown, and is conducted to a dump.

9, 10 indicate angle irons on the walls 2, 3, for supporting the receptacle.

11 indicates a shaft supported at its ends in journal bearings 12, 12, and on the shaft are sprockets 13 for supporting agitators or chains 14: composed of elongated links.

15 indicates a shaft near the bottom of the receptacle, supported in brackets or bearings 16, 16, at each of its ends, said brackets being secured to the ends of the tank, as shown, for separating the agitators at their lower ends, and holding them in their normal position. The chains pass around the lower shaft 15, and between the two sides of the chains is a vertical partition 17 extending down into the receptacle and supported atlts ends between flanges 18, 18, on the ends of the receptacle, for directing the flow of the ore in its passage.

19 indicates a pipe for drawing ofl pulp in cleaning the machine, and 20 indicates a discharge opening provided with a plug 21 for removing the amalgam freighted with the values, or gold or silver.

The shaft 11 is revolved from any suitable source of power connected to a sprocket or other wheel 22 on one end of the shaft 11.

The ore is conducted to the receptacle commingled with water, descends with the water and is agitated by the chains 14:, which are propelled or travel in a direction opposite to the flow of the ore and produce a thorough agitation of the ore, allowing the values, which are of greater specific gravity than the Water and the ore or pulp, to gravitate into the amalgam bath where they are collected. The pulp relieved of its values, is then raised in the receptacle 1, by the water flowing through the receptacle and is discharged at the upper open end of the receptacle over the flange 8. The gold or silver recovered by the mercury or amalgam is removed from the chamber 5 through the opening 20, and separated therefrom in the usual manner.

The device described presents a thoroughly eflective means for its purpose, is inexpensive, and easily operated at very little cost for power.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim is 1. An amalgamator comprising an open top receptacle having feed and discharge means on opposite sides, a plurality of vertically disposed endless agitators, means for operating said agitators in opposition to the flow of pulp, the wall of the feed side of the receptacle being substantially parallel to one flight of the agitators, the wall of the discharging side of said receptacle being upwardly inclined with respect to the other flight of said agitators, a shaft supporting said agitators at the top, a member separating the agitators at the lower portions, a vertical partition depending between the flights of the agitators, extending across the receptacle, and having a depth substantially less than that of the agitators.

2. An amalgamator comprising a relatively narrow open top receptacle having .feed and discharge means on opposite sides,

spect to the other flight of said agitators, a

shaft supporting said agitators at the top, a member separatingthc agitators at the lower portions, a vertical partition depending between the flights of the agitators, extending across the receptacle, and having a depth substantially less than that of the agitators, and a mercury chamber formed at the 20 bottom of said receptacle below said agita tors.

In testimony whereof We afiix our signatures, presence of tWo Witnesses.

FRANK P. ARNOLD. GEORGE F. WEDEMAN. Witnesses:

' D. C. REIN HL,

W. PARKER REINOHL.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, 0. 

